There are millions of people throughout the world confined to wheelchairs. Many, if not most, routinely visit physicians, dentists and other medical or healthcare related professionals for diagnosis, treatment and checkups. Transferring patients from wheelchairs to an examination table is a real problem in the medical and healthcare communities. First, many patients confined to wheelchairs are feeble and fragile, and because of that, simply transferring the patient from a wheelchair to an examination table has the potential to injure the patient. Unfortunately, many patients confined to wheelchairs are overweight, and even obese. This compounds the problem. In some cases the patient suffers from bed sores and tender and fragile skin that can be broken in the process of lifting the patient from the wheelchair and placing the patient on an examination table. Not only is there concern for the patient, but transferring patients from wheelchairs to examination tables also poses concern for nurses, attendants, doctors and other healthcare providers. Many nurses and medical attendants are injured as a result of attempting to lift a patient from a wheelchair onto an examination table. Injuries, such as back injuries, are common occurrences with nurses and medical attendants transferring patients from wheelchairs to examination tables.
Some physicians may attempt to circumvent this problem by examining and treating the patient while in the wheelchair. This is, of course, difficult even in the best of circumstances and conditions. Wheelchairs are not designed to accommodate medical examinations. When patients occupy wheelchairs they are confined to one single position, and the structure of the wheelchair makes it difficult for the physician to examine certain parts of the patient's body. Moreover, the side frames of the wheelchair make it virtually impossible to access the patient from the sides.
Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for a patient examination system that addresses the problems of examining patients in wheelchairs.